Involuntary

Chapter Two

Elena blinked in shock. Men like this didn't come in here every day. In fact, the only one she had seen this hot was Elric, the dark-haired guy who had brought his friend in. Aside from their size and relative gorgeous looks, the two were as different as day and night.

The man's hair was a darker, ashen blond, shot through with gold and streaks of white. His features were classically handsome with a hard jaw, defined cheekbones, full lips, and thick, arched brows that were the same ash blond as his hair revealing to her it was naturally those shades.

His eyes distracted her most of all. They were every color of sapphire, from the darkest midnight on the outer edge to a bright Caribbean-blue in the center, contrasting his pitch-black pupils. And they were always changing, like dye in water. Yet, there was something in those eyes that struck her more than the colors. Loneliness. Maybe even something worse.

He was staring at her, making Sebastian purr and relax when he had never been at ease with anyone but her, and she realized the eccentric, gorgeous man just asked to volunteer.

"Wait," she said, even thought the thought of working alongside a guy like him for even a few hours a week seemed like a dream come true. "I need to know your experience and I'll need to do a background check on you."

He frowned, "I can get them, but as you are not paying me, is it truly necessary?"

Elric appeared from behind him and walked forward with Elena conspiratorially, "Do you think we could just not worry about it? He's kind of going through a rough time, just been through a big overseas move and his stuff is everywhere."

"Do you have any experience with animals?" she asked. Dmitrei shrugged and she frowned, "You're going to have to be more helpful than that."

"I… am a quick learner," he said quietly. "And I do like animals."

She swallowed. It was against their rules, but strangely, she had a good feeling about him. And they did need the extra hands. Free help with those kinds of muscles wasn't exactly knocking on their door every day. He would be so useful for moving crates, heavy food, cages… and as eye candy. She turned to put Sebastian back in the cage, hiding her blush. She long ago stopped thinking about love, let alone with a guy that looked good enough to grace a movie screen, not do manual labor around her shelter.

She still felt tingles in her body from when he had been so close to her, touching Sebastian and invading her space without realizing it. With the nearly constant pain she was in, it took a lot to distract her for even moment. But he had done it. Was it because he was so hot that her body went haywire? Or had there actually been some sort of soothing presence emanating from him? She wasn't sure. She didn't have a lot of experience with hot guys. Her days were all work, and at night she was exhausted and tired of dealing with people and wanted to stay home snuggling her cats. One thing she was sure of was there was something odd about this guy. Something that made her want to see more of him.

Literally, she thought to herself, blushing again.

She looked up to see him watching her intently. He didn't look at her like any other guy would. Often, people made comments about her weight, or sneered at her, or dismissed her entirely. They had no idea what her life had been like. What she had fought or overcome. All they saw was an overweight woman they could judge. She liked her body. She was at home in it and grateful for it, and she wouldn't change herself for anything. All she would change was that critical look in people's eyes that said there was something wrong with her.

Except the handsome man in front of her didn't have that look in his eyes at all. In fact, if she hadn't been imagining it, she could swear she saw his eyes sweep over her, checking her out, and a slightly appreciative nod of his head. But that was stupid. She was just daydreaming, because a man straight out of a superhero movie, with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen, happened to be staring at her.